Cap assembly having storage chamber for secondary material with movable working member

ABSTRACT

A cap assembly having a storage chamber for a secondary ingredient, which is adapted to a mouth of a container, comprising: a body having a mouth; a chamber part having a storage space for secondary ingredient in the body and a hole formed at the lower end thereof; said chamber part is sealed by a movable working member and is opened when the movable working member is removed from the hole upon removing the cap so that the secondary ingredient may be mixed with the first ingredient in the container, said the movable working member being adapted to maintain the opened hole, after moving to open the hole, thereby effectively mixing of the different ingredients.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application is a Section 371 National Stage Application ofInternational patent application Ser. No. PCT/KR2006/005425, filed Dec.13, 2006 and published as WO 2007/117070 on Oct. 18, 2007, in Englishthe content of which is hereby incorporated by reference in itsentirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a cap assembly for closing a containerand more particularly to a cap assembly having a storage chamber forcontaining a secondary material for example a concentrated liquid or agranule different from a primary ingredient, for example water or abeverage accommodated in a container.

Such a cap assembly is useful in the various industrial fields such asmedical, pharmaceutical, cosmetic and etc.

BACKGROUND ART

Generally, to mix a liquid in a container with a granule or aconcentrate liquid as additives or secondary ingredients, it is oftennecessary that a separate chamber for storage the secondary ingredientsis provided in the container.

There are many suggestions more than 5,000 including U.S. Pat. No.937,049 (filed on Oct. 19, 1909) for the structure adapted to mix two ormore different ingredients in a container.

However, the containers disclosed in the above patents have notcommercially succeeded because of the problems such as inefficiency in amanufacture process, inconvenience in use, etc.

Particularly, there are further needs for more easily handling of acontainer and of a working means for mixing two or more ingredients in acontainer without problems of changing a structure or an injury of anelbow caused by acting an excessive force to open an discharging device.

Recently, PCT/EP2002/004523 filed on Jan. 17, 2002 and Japanese PatentApplication No. 2001-00185428 filed on Jun. 19, 2001 suggested otherstructure, but a commercial success is not obtained.

Particularly, the structure disclosed in Japanese Patent Applicationmentioned above has a problem that a piece cut out from a dischargingport fall into a container and a child may swallow it.

Other structure for separate storage of a secondary ingredient in acontainer also has a problem that the structure could not be adapted toa neck of a conventional bottle.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION Technical Problem

In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide acap assembly having an improved convenience with a mouth portion.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a cap assemblywhich is adapted to discharge a secondary ingredient into a containerupon opening of a cap so that the secondary ingredient may be mixed witha primary ingredient in a container.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a cap assemblythat upon opening of a cap, a secondary ingredient contained in aseparate chamber may be quickly discharged into a container upon openinga cap and mixed with a primary ingredient.

Technical Solution

In order to accomplish the above-mentioned objects, a cap assemblyaccording the present invention comprises a body adapted to be assembledto a mouth of a container and a chamber part separate from the body forcontaining a secondary ingredient in the body, which is adapted to aneck of a container, the chamber part selectively opened to dischargethe secondary ingredient into the first ingredient in the container,thereby mixing together.

The cap assembly according to the present invention comprises a bodyhaving a mouth and assembled to the neck of the container; first andsecondary movable working members assembled to the mouth and thesecondary working member adapted to seal the chamber part.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above objects, other features and advantages of the presentinvention will become more apparent by describing the preferredembodiments thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a longitude-sectional view of a cap assembly in accordancewith a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a longitude-sectional view of a cap assembly in accordancewith a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a longitude-sectional view of a cap assembly in accordancewith a third embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a longitude-sectional view of a cap assembly in accordancewith a fourth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a longitude-sectional view of a cap assembly in accordancewith a fifth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a longitude-sectional view of a part of the cap assembly ofthe FIG. 5 in use thereof;

FIG. 7 is a longitude-sectional view of a cap assembly in accordancewith a sixth embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a longitude-sectional view of a part of the cap assembly ofthe FIG. 7 in use thereof;

FIG. 9 is a longitude-sectional view of a cap assembly in accordancewith a seventh embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a longitude-sectional view of a cap assembly in accordancewith a eighth embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 11 is a longitude-sectional view of a part of the cap assembly ofthe FIG. 10 in use thereof.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Reference will now be made to the drawings to describe the resentinvention in detail. In the following description of the presentinvention, the same reference numerals are used for the same elementseven in different drawings, and the duplicate explanation thereof willbe omitted.

Referring to FIG. 1, a cap assembly 1 in accordance with the preferredembodiment of the present invention may be removably assembled at acontainer 100 for example a beverage container in such a way of aconventional thread engagement, snap-fit engagement or adhering types.The cap assembly 1 may be selectively removed from the container 100.

The cap assembly 1 comprises a body 10 which may be engaged with theneck of the container 100 and has an opened mouth 11 and an openable cap20 provided at the mouth 11 of the body 10.

A chamber part 30 is assembled in the body 10 and a second workingmember 40 for openably sealing a hole 31 of the chamber part 30 isprovided in the mouth 11 of the body 10 so as to be extended through thestorage space 32.

A first working member 50 is assembled at the second working member 40so that when use, the first working member 50 lifts up the secondworking member 40. The cap 20 is adapted to lift the first workingmember 50.

The chamber part 30 may be preferably filled with a secondary ingredientthrough the first working member 50, when the cap 20 is not assembled atthe mouth 11.

The body 10 and mouth 11 may be assembled at the proper portion of thecontainer 100 in a thread engagement or any other engagement type.

The cap 20 and skirt thereof may be formed in various shapes, forexample to be inserted by a character.

The chamber part 30 is preferably made of a resin which is not deformedby a heat or pressure. A resilient annulus portion is formed at a flangeof the chamber part 30 for sealing and it is preferred that thethickness of the annulus portion is possibly thin, but it should beenough to maintain the sealing property.

The body 10, in which the chamber part 30 is vertically assembledtherein, is engaged with the container by rotation. For this purpose, aspace is optionally be existed between the chamber part 30 and theengaging portion of the body 10 not to prevent rotation of the chamberpart 30.

A sealing element 41 of silicon resin is preferably provided at thelower end of the second working member 40 plugging the hole 31 of thechamber part 30.

The first working member 50 is lifted for use of the cap assembly 1 andthen the second working member 40 is not lowered at the mouth 11,although the cap 20 is plugged again.

When the cap 20 is opened in use, the first working member 50 is lifted,the second working member 40 is also lifted at the same time to open thehole 31, whereby the secondary ingredient in the storage space 32 fallsdown through the hole 31 and is mixed with the primary ingredient in thecontainer 100.

When the cap 20 is plugged again at the mouth 11, the first workingmember 50 is lowered, but the second working member 40 is maintained atthe lifted position so that the hole 31 is maintained in the openedstatus.

At this time, when the container 100 is shaken, the primary ingredientin the container 100 is moved into the storage space 32 and theremaining secondary ingredient is mixed with the first ingredient.

After the secondary ingredient in the chamber part 30 is mixed with thefirst ingredient, the cap 20 is removed and the mixtures of the firstand secondary ingredients may be discharged through the first workingmember 50.

In the secondary embodiment shown in FIG. 2, this embodiment isdifferent from the first embodiment in which the second working member40 is prevented from lowering in the inner surface of the mouth 11 inthat at least one resilient segment 33 formed at the chamber part 30holds the second working member 40 in the lifted position.

Preferably, after the second working member 40 is lifted by the firstworking member 50, even though the first working member 50 is lowered,the resilient segment 33 abuts against the sealing surface to preventthe second working member from returning to the original position.

In the third embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the second working member 40 isconnected to the connecting rod of the first working member 50, wherebythe second working member 40 lifted by the first working member 50 inuse is prevented form lowering by the resilient segment 33.

In the fourth embodiment shown in FIG. 4, while the first working member50 in the previous embodiments is removed, an extension 21 downwardlyformed at the cap 20 takes the place of the first working member 50.

When the cap 20 is lifted in use, the second working member 50 islifted, but the second working member 50 is maintained in the liftedposition even though the cap 20 is fitted again.

It is natural for user takes the mixtures removing the cap 20 from thesecond working member 50.

In the fifth embodiment shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the second workingmember 40 is adapted to be lowered at the inner surface of the mouth 11,thereby opening the hole 31.

Preferably, a long slot 43 is formed at the outside of the secondworking member 40 and a protrusion 13 formed at the inner surface of themouth 11, so that the second working member 40 may be moved upwardly anddownwardly without rotation. The shapes of the protrusion 13 and slot 43may be changed in various forms.

The second working member 40 and the cap 20 are structured so that thesecond working member 40 may be lowered upon upward movement of the capfor opening the mouth.

That is, threads are formed at the inner surface of the second workingmember 40 and are correspondingly formed at a working element 22downwardly formed at the cap 20.

When in use, the cap 20 is removed by rotation and then the secondworking member 40 is lowered to open the hole at the lower end of thechamber part 30(see FIG. 6), so that the secondary ingredient in thestorage space 32 of the chamber part 30 falls into the container throughthe space 44.

In the sixth embodiment shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, this embodiment isstructured to be reversely operated from the embodiment in FIG. 6.

That is, the second working member 40 is adapted to be lifted when thecap 20 is opened.

In the seventh embodiment shown in FIG. 9, a stopper 14 is formed at theinner surface of the mouth 11 so that the second working member 40 maybe lifted in a limited distance.

In the eighth embodiment shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the second workingmember 40 may be removed together with the cap 20 and a resilientsealing member is formed at the hole 31.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

As apparent from the above description, the cap assembly of the presentinvention may be adapted to accommodate a concentrated liquid or agranule to be mixed which a water, a beverage or other liquid in thecontainer with an easy and improved mixing two different ingredients,which may be advantageous in the various industrial fields such asmedical, pharmaceutical, cosmetic and etc.

Even when the cap removed is fitted at the mouth, the second workingmember is maintained at the opening position of the hole. At this time,by shaking the container, the primary ingredient in the container ismoved into the storage space and the remaining secondary ingredient maybe mixed with the first ingredient.

Therefore, user may have a good taste of the diluted beverage originallysought.

Furthermore, user may easily have the dilute beverage through theworking member.

While the preferred embodiment in accordance with the present inventionhas been shown and described, equivalent modifications and changes knownto persons skilled in the art according to the present invention areconsidered to be within the scope of the present invention as defined inthe appended claims.

1. A cap assembly comprising: a body having a mouth; a chamber parthaving a storage space for an ingredient and a hole formed at a lowerend thereof; a cap plugging the mouth of the body; a first workingmember that is adapted to be lifted by the cap when the cap is removedfrom the body; a second working member that is lifted by the firstworking member to a lifted height when the cap is removed from the body,the second working member plugging the hole of the chamber part beforethe second working member is lifted and the hole being opened as thesecond working member is lifted to the lifted height; and the cap, thefirst working member and the second working member such that when thecap is placed on the mouth of the body after being removed from thebody, the first working member is lowered but the second working memberremains at the lifted height and the hole remains open.
 2. A capassembly comprising: a body having a mouth; a chamber part having astorage space for an ingredient and a hole formed at a lower endthereof; a cap provided at the mouth of the body; the hole being sealedby a working member such that as the cap is removed from the mouth ofthe body the working member is lifted to a lifted height by the cap sothat the hole is opened; and the working member being adapted to remainat the lifted height to keep the hole open, when the cap is placed onthe mouth of the body after being removed from the mouth of the body.